will this be under iran the way lebanon is under syria? >> reporter: iran's influence is already here. think of it this way. there are right now zero direct flights between the united states and iraq. you have to go through dubai or several of the other countries. there are, on many days, 12, 15, 18 direct flights between iraq and iran. there are over 2 million iranians who come here every year. they invest here. when you walk around the country, most of the taxi cabs on the streets in baghdad these days come from iran. so iran's influence, economically, culturally, politically even, depending on who you ask, is already very significant in this country. some of that is positive. iraq can use the tourism. and just because pilgrims from iran are coming here to visit shiite religious sites doesn't mean they're taking over the country. but it certainly shows the amount of influence that they have. >> thank you very much, richard engel. take care in baghdad. >> reporter: you take care of yourself. >> now let's to "the washington post." author o